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If I could have a breakfast rallying cry, a breakfast mantra, if you will, it would be, It’s not cake! It’s breakfast! It would be rather dull, naturally. I know that the line between Cake For Breakfast and our various formats of Breakfast Cakes (muffins, coffee cakes and pancakes) is thin, I know the distinctions on either side of it are, at best, tiny, but they are what allows me to pretend I’m eating cake for breakfast when I’m really not, so I cling to them.

I said as much a few weeks ago when I made coconut muffins. Oh sure, they’re like a glorified macaroon, but! a macaroon full of healthy oils and Greek yogurt and whole wheat flour and a moderate level of sugar. They win at breakfast. Cake, 0, Breakfast 1, you could say. But when I spotted a recipe for carrot cake pancakes, replete with what we all know is the very best part of carrot cake, a sweetened cream cheese topping, I said, “No way, uh-uh. Carrot cake is dessert, not breakfast.”

Thank goodness I studied them more closely from there because when I did, no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t find a trace of evil. A smallish amount of flour, minuscule amount of sugar, single egg and not a lick of melted fat (inside the pancake, that is) batter up with the better part of a pound of carrots, and together they make The Very Best Way To Skirt The Breakfast/Cake Divide and Totally Win. Or, more succinctly, you could just call them Carrot Cake Pancakes.

I should have known they’d be delightful, based on the source, the first cookbook from one of my favorite voices in food blogging, Joy the Baker. Joy is — in case the glamour gal in the cocktail dress, holding a towering pink birthday cake, on an even pinker book cover didn’t give it away — a delight. When I found her blog a few years ago, I was drawn to the girly chattiness, like being on the phone with a friend and realizing that you’re eating chocolate cake for dinner and laughing about it. She’s that kind of fun. But when I think of Joy, I really think of pancakes because this woman, she knows her pancakes. From the The Single Lady Pancake to Cornmeal Molasses and Smashed Raspberry and Chocolate Chunk Pancakes, she’s got more pancake recipes on her site than I can count on both hands and I love this story about her dad and pancakes. If I was going to drag her book into the kitchen with me, I knew it would have to be to make pancakes.

This recipe is the kind that will go instantly into a regular weekend morning rotation. Or, perhaps, you regularly get your meals mixed up like I do. I made these on Thursday afternoon, thinking we could heat and eat them on Saturday morning. But Thursday 5 p.m. crept up, then 5:30, then 5:45 and I couldn’t put off making dinner any longer, and little thought crept into my head… two cups of carrots, two cups of carrots and I think we know what happened next. By Saturday, it was time to whip out the grater again.

The only thing I can say I gravely dislike about making carrot cake is the need for finely grated carrots. My love for my food processor’s shredding blade, which reduces potatoes to hash browns in two seconds flat, is well-documented but it’s not the right tool for these pancakes, because (at least in the case of my FP) the shredded carrots are too coarse, and won’t cook to a point of tenderness in their few minutes on the grill. Hand-grating on the fine holes of a box grater is the way to go.

Nevertheless, once you’ve endured that hardship, it’s delicious sailing the rest of the way. If you’re of the misconception, as I was, that cream cheese frosting has no place at the breakfast meal, I think this will change your mind: softened cream cheese is beaten with just a fraction of the sugar you’d use in a real frosting, and milk, not cream, is used as a thinning agent. Despite concerted dolloping efforts, we had a bit of extra and should you, as well, I advise you to definitely not try to figure out whether it would taste good on banana bread, or an oatmeal muffin, or a… spoon. Just don’t. It’s a slippery slope.

Place a rack in the upper third of your oven and preheat to 200°F. This will keep the pancakes warmed as they’re fried in batches.

To make the pancakes: In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and, if using, nuts and raisins. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg, brown sugar, buttermilk and vanilla. Stir in carrots. Stir carrot mixture into dry ingredients, stirring until just Incorporated. Let rest for five minutes while you make the cream cheese topping.

To make the cream cheese topping: In a small bowl, beat the cream cheese until fluffy and lump-free. Whisk in powdered sugar, two tablespoons milk, vanilla and cinnamon. If you’d like the mixture thinner, add the remaining tablespoon of milk (I did not).

Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a cast-iron skillet or griddle pan. Spoon 2 tablespoons batter into the hot pan per pancake (to me, this seemed like too little but after experimenting with larger pancakes, I advise you to listen to Joy; It’s a wiggly batter and much easier to and cook in small puddles), flipping once, until pancakes are golden on both sides, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer finished pancakes to a serving dish or tray in the oven, to keep warm while you repeat the process with the remaining batter, adding more butter as needed.

322 comments on carrot cake pancakes

Oh goodness. This weekend I’m running my last super long run (22 miles, ahh) before the Boston Marathon and these pancakes look like the perfect way to refuel. Now I just need to find someone willing to make them and have them ready for me as soon as I’m finished running…

These look lovely, I’ll have to make them. My food processor has two different shredding blades, and I’m hoping that the finer one will work out for this. I apparently have nothing like your patience and I don’t think they’ll get made otherwise!

Wow. Thanks for giving this recipe a whirl!! You’ve inspired me to put these at the top of my “to make from Joy’s cookbook” list. I Just made her Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies (with pecans), and they were absolutely amazing. So happy to see her cookbook is producing some great eats, and super looking forward to yours book Deb!!

Carrot cake is my all-time favorite, in fact it is the one I ask for every year for my birthday cake. How cool to now be able to have my favorite “cake” for breakfast! Can’t wait for the weekend to try this one.

Carrot cake is my favorite–thanks so much for this Deb! Just out of curiosity, have you ever tried making carrot cake crepes? I wasn’t sure if that was a real recipe, but I could totally envision them layered with cream cheese frosting to make one of those beautiful crepe cakes. What do you think?

Oh man. I still have a zillion carrots from our CSA box and was just thinking this morning about what I could possibly make with that many carrots. These seem more like a carrot lakte pancake, which is fantastic. Definitely need to try these!

I did a happy dance when I saw this recipe. I have some maple cream cheese frosting left over from when I made your carrot cake for a friend on friday… Now I know exactly what to do with it.
Carrot cake pancakes with maple cream cheese frosting, oh yes please!

The cake turned out OMG AMAZING IMMA DIE RIGHT NOW OF GLORYTUDE perfect, by the way.

Oh my goodness… I have everything I need to make these pancakes. I hate grating carrots too, sometimes when I’m not paying attention I tend to start grating my knuckles too. But if grating carrots is what it takes to eat this, I’m totally in!

These look awesome and ironically, I just made carrot cake and cream cheese cookies and just got done edited my pics RIGHT before I read this post. The universe is speaking Carrots to me, around every corner :)

1. Why isn’t there a fine grating disk for the food processor? You would think that KitchenAid would provide…but no. 2. You little one looks like a handsome boy now! Love the haircut! 3. Must make those pancakes asap!

Oh WOW… after my leisurely morning searching the net for a new unique recipe to try… I’ve found it right HERE! I LOVE carrot cake and this spin on it as a pancake makes it the ideal weekend breakfast treat xo Thank you!!!

I’ve made these and they are fabulous. So, SO good! I actually use my food processor to grate the carrots, and they turn out just fine for me. I just can’t with the hand grating…that’s only for an extra special birthday cake, not breakfast. :) If you have a small chopping bowl for your food processor, I recommend using that to make the topping. It makes it easier to smooth out the cream cheese.

Just made these–can’t believe how tender and yummy they are! The spices are just right–subtle but still there. I found a way around having to hand grate the carrots. I couldn’t bear the thought of hand grating that many carrots, so I ground them up in my Vitamix (a food processor would do the same thing), then par-cooked them for 2 minutes on high in the microwave. After coming out of the microwave, they still had a but of crunch. They came out perfectly tender in the pancakes. :)

“How does she know, Rich? How does she know?” I just asked my husband about your latest food offering. Last week you did knishes like the ones we devoured on our honeymoon, and now you’re offering carrot cake pancakes because you somehow knew our wedding cake was a carrot cake? (Carrot cake, raspberry filling and marzipan fondant all Martha Stewarted up with yellowed fondant and daisies. I digress.) My husband and I have just agreed that we will have these to start our anniversary day in June.

I once tried to make carrot cake pancakes but they were horribly dense and I think I overcooked them (or it could have been because they verged more on the side of cake than breakfast). At any rate, these look awesome and so good for you too!

Sounds amazing, but hand-grating the carrots not so much. I’ve had success grating on the food processor attachment and then mulching with a hand blender. Bit of washing up though! I’ve gotta try these pancakes.

Oh Deb, I’m with ya on the grating carrots thing. That and peeling potatoes; it freaks me out every single time! I’m reduced to making hubby do that stuff for me, I just say, “Honey, if you don’t do it, we’ll starve to death.” Gets him every time. But it just feels like there must be another way!! Maybe we could start a brainstorming session and we could invent the new Perfect Carrot Grater….hmm….thanks for this, healthy pancakes? I’m in!!

The Silver Palate carrot cake recipe requires cooked, mashed carrots instead of grated carrots. For small amounts, just grating them is probably easier/faster, but I’m wondering if that trick might be convertible to these pancakes to make them more reasonable to make in larger quantities?

That carrot cake also just generally a really, really good carrot cake, at least without the nuts and coconut; I’ve actually never eaten it precisely as it’s written.

(also: yum. And I love the idea of topping it with a lightly sweetened cream-cheesy dollop.)

I love carrot cake, I love pancakes, and I love these moments in life where the admirer and the admired switch places. Joy has spoken so fondly on her blog about looking up to your blog and it’s such a satisfying thing to see a post of yours with her BOOK in the background! I cannot get over how great the blogging world is.

ooo these look great! and i love joy the baker! i was just at her book signing, she is really lovely. and i so can’t wait to start cooking my way through her pancake recipes! thanks for the inspiration!

These look crazy-good, and I think they could definitely qualify for a regular spot in the breakfast rotation. As for grating the carrots, what about putting them in the food processor with the regular blade? I do this for my carrot cake which produces a similar effect to the small-hole box grater, yet with much less effort and far easier clean-up!

I just adore Joy the Baker as well…she has a light hearted approach to baking, which I admire and she is very creative with her recipes. Such a delight to see one of my favorite bloggers blog about another one of my favorite bloggers ;) Carrot cake pancakes definitely sound wonderful, and your stack with cream cheese topping is exactly what I would want to eat every morning!

I love carrot cake (my mom’s is the best in the world and I will fight to the death anyone who says otherwise. or, you know, we could have a cake-off, I’d judge) and I love Joy the Baker! I can’t wait to get my hot little hands on her cookbook, but for the meantime, I know what I’ll be having for breakfast this weekend!

Ooh, so sorry to bother you with this but do you have any ideas for what to replace the buttermilk with here in France? Creme liquide and…?

I am so happy to have found your blog–as corny as this sounds, you make me want to cook! As an American living in France, I really miss the best of American cooking–clean, simple but interesting–all of which I find here. Merci. :)

I LOVE THIS RECIPE! I really need to try it! It’s genius!
Breakfast is my favourite day, so I always try to make something for the week, now I am into granola with yogurt in weekdays + pancakes in the weekends :)

Ooh, I love Joy’s new cookbook. I was just thinking about her kitchen-creativity this morning. That is truly a gift to be able to do what she does – and these pancakes certainly look divine – I thought so when I saw them in her book and now when I see them here too!

First off – Jacob looks insanely cute with the new haircut. Love it!
Second – the pancakes look brilliant – they’re calling my name.
Last – To Heather: put a tablespoon of lemon juice or white vinegar in a measuring cup, fill with regular milk, stir and let sit for a few minutes. Instant buttermilk!

Deb, this is so my kind of breakfast. I’m gonna make these for my kiddos and they will freak! Or maybe I’m just using them as an excuse so that I get to eat a nice stack of these beauties in the morning;)
-Erin

Hi Deb – I have never written a comment, but I LOVE your blog! Just wanted to comment that I print your recipes all of the time, but I always wish they would print with one of your beautiful photos at the top. Any chance this is possible? I am so visual that a photo really helps me remember what the recipe looked like when I go to make it…

Hi Grace — It is! However, it’s an either/or thing (I’m not so technically fancy that I know how to offer it as an option for the reader doing the printing). When I had the top photo in the printing template, people complained that it used up toner/pages/etc. When I took it off, I do hear that people miss it. I can’t win. :)

Definitely will be trying these. My carrot cake recipe was my grandmother’s, and it’s a tiny bit famous. In our family, anyway. ;) But I only mention that to tell you that – besides the fact that everyone around here loves carrot cake and all related goodies – the recipe actually directs you to pureee the carrots (raw, but peeled and coarsely chopped) in a blender with some of the liquid for the cake before adding to the batter. Perhaps this would work for these pancakes, if you’re not into grating it? I think I’ll try; the buttermilk will get really foamy, but maybe if you do it first and then let it rest while you get the other ingredients ready? All in the name of progress and experimentation, of course. ;) Now I just have to try to decide how much coarse chopping will be required to equate to the 2 cups of finely shredded…

So just made these… It was an epic fail. I used yogurt instead of buttermilk because I read that could be a substitution… They would not cook through without the outside burning so they were a gushy mess. Same thing has happened making banana pancakes… Wish I could just eat the pictures!!

I was struggling to come up with a dinner last night when this popped up on my facebook page! I had all the ingredients except the buttermilk – which was easy to substitute with some milk and lemon juice – and we got to cooking. They were delicious! They were just the kind of thing I needed after giving up “sweets” for lent. I figure I walked a thin line last night…but just to stay on right side of the line, we didn’t make the cream cheese topping. Needless to say, next time we make them, we will fully indulge! Thanks for sharing :)

I made these this morning! (hallelujah, i had all the necessary ingredients on hand). Delicious & I felt so virtuous eating all that carrot fiber. Mine were a bit irregular shaped (I didn’t work too hard on shaping them round, because I don’t care–and irregular edges mean more crispy pancake edges!).

O.M.G. this looks amazing! I will definitely have to try this one. IF only I could keep a photo journal of all your posts.. Have you ever thought of starting a cookbook? Or have you beat me to it already?

I make pancakes more for dinner than for breakfast. Corncakes–with cornmeal and corn–for example, have a semi-regular spot in our rotation. One of my kids is very picky, but pancakes work for her. Any suggestions for accompaniments, particularly to add a little protein (I guess the walnuts would work too – maybe even toasted and ground?)? By the way, I am a huge fan; my family and I have enjoyed MANY of your recipes over the years – THANK YOU!

Joy in the back! That’s a pretty sweet way to make a shout out…about to make these. Super excited! I have success with all of you recipes (even the hand pies!). This site is my touchstone and has given me great confidence in the kitchen. I previously had VERY little. Thank you! Keep it up!

Brittany — I think the ground stuff has a tenancy towards mustiness; I never cared for it. But the freshly grated is lovely. And really, a cinch. You can just use your Microplane zester and it takes only 30 seconds longer.

After grating the carrots, I kind of wanted to squeeze some of the water out. Like you do for like potato pancakes–maybe not that extreme but maybe blot with a paper towel before adding to the milk. I didn’t but wondered if anyone else tried that. I felt like it might have helped the final texture.

I am so, so, so in love with the JTB cookbook! I haven’t made these pancakes yet (though I did give her peanut butter birthday cake a try and oh, I’m am so glad that I did) but given my penchant for pancakes-for-dinner, I think I’m going to have to soon!

Big thumbs up on these! Perfection again! I have both large and small-hole grating disks for my old Cuisinart food processor, so I was able to breeze through that step. SIDEBAR WARNING DEB! Favorite topic of mine: Superiority of 1980’s appliances over today’s- have 22 year-old Maytag washer & dryer, going strong. Have a 1980’s hand-made Swiss espresso machine I got off Craigslist, magnifico! 80’s Krups juicer, 80’s Braun hand mixer, ditto. My Cuisinart is from the same era, solid as a rock. All the newer stuff’s made in China, whether you pay $10 or $100, it’s all crap!

Alexia – I didn’t squeeze the water out of the carrots but I wish I had. I think it might have helped to cook them better – I cooked them on a fairly low heat but even after they were overcooked on both sides the inside was still very mushy. But they were still delicious!

For those wondering about whole-wheat flour, I made them tonight with 1/2 cup AP and 1/2 cup whole wheat, and they were a hit with my family. I think I’ll try them next time with all whole wheat. I don’t anticipate any problems with it. The carrots are front-and-center here, not the flour, after all.

p.s. I highly recommend using the leftover cream cheese topping on strawberries for dessert. (Not that you NEED dessert when you have dessert-for-breakfast-for-dinner, but if you were so inclined…)

My hubby got frustrated with the fine-grating by hand after a bit (well, one carrot) and decided to coarsely grate with food processor, then pulse with chopping blade- Voila! Perfection in seconds. :)

I tossed in some unsweetened, shredded coconut – a must for my carrot cake! The batter seemed to wet, but isn’t at all. I agree – small size is the way to go b/c these are so tender… and absolutely wonderful. Many thanks for inspiring us!

Yum!! Love the sound of these (and anything else carrot cake themed) as well as the suggestions of other great pancake articles to try out (single lady pancake? HERE I COME!). Guess its time for me to finally buy a box grater! Wish you could do a carrot cake recipe that resembled my Grandmother’s… I would die of happiness!

I made these yesterday. We have given up sweets (not for lent, just for health) and these seemed like a good way to cheat with out, you know, cheating. I don’t have a box grater with fancy different sized holes. I have a microplane zester and a handheld grater with medium/big sized holes. I choose the grater because I thought the microplane would = madness. I like pancakes, but they shouldn’t be a multi-day project is all I’m sayin’. I also only had the baby snacking carrots which were so much fun to grate one at a time. The skin on my finger joints is pretty torn up.

Long story short (too late!) these were tasty. I will definitely make them again, but I might have to buy a new grater.

And bigger carrots.

PS I also had trouble cooking them all the way through, which is not a problem I normally have with pancakes. I cooked them in a cast iron skillet at the lowest temperature my stove allows. Maybe I was making them too big. Next time!

I bet you could grate the carrots a bit more coarsely, then gently saute them with some butter and lemon juice while you mix the dry ingredients. That would cut down on the work some – especially since I hate grating!

Think I’ll make these for breakfast tomorrow – hubby and I both love carrot cake.

My favorite line on this has always been Michael Kelly’s, despite my disagreeing with him about everything else: “A muffin the size of a softball is not breakfast. It is dessert; you are eating cake at 8 a.m.”

That said, this makes me want to bloody my knuckles on a grater because that last picture literally made my mouth water. I wish it were like Willy Wonka’s food TV so that I could reach up to my computer screen and grab that forkful.

Do you think a double recipe (or a triple) could be baked in a well greased jelly roll pan to be served at a brunch? I could cut squares- rather than have to fry them batch by batch. Or could I freeze them, fried, and then heat them in the oven to crisp up.
Any advice is welcome. I need a new side dish for a brunch. I am getting tired of Kugel.

I made these the day you posted the recipe and I’m hooked! The balance of flavors between the carrots and spices was spot on, and I love how hearty they were. I happened to have golden raisins and chopped hazlenuts so I did include them and I think they added a lot (the raisins did, at least). My toddler loved them like Jabob did and called out “Moah! Moah!”

I made these with whole wheat pastry flour, and they were very good. I do agree that they are a little mushy in the middle. Must be the added moisture from the carrots. These are very low cal, for anyone who cares (I eked out 9, and calculated 87 calories each). I know that’s not why we come here, but it’s nice to know they’re good and good for you!

I’m not much of a pancake eater, mostly because when I want to eat pancakes, what I really want to do is eat 500 pancakes. But these have me sold. Of course, it have also been the hilarity of your struggles with the breakfast cake / dessert cake divide :)

mmm! I made carrot cake a few days ago, and i’m still in the mood for more carrot infused recipes – these look terrific! btw – if you’re interested in winning chobani greek yogurt, maybe you should stop over to my blog and enter the contest.

If your book tour takes you to Virginia Beach you must go to the Jewish Mother! Can’t vouch for the authenticity of the food, but it’s a delightful little place, and the only reason I knew what blintzes were before moving to New York.

Came to read the recipe, happened to follow the link to see your little guy happy with the finished product–and how adorable is he? I remember that age, and I marvel you get anything done, since it is so easy to dote on such precious-ness.

I so hope you read this comment. I don’t know which food processor you have but, I own a Cuisinart..the plain jane white one and you can buy an add-on set of discs that include..wait for it..”a Medium Square Julienne Disc, Thick Slicing Disc (6-mm.) and a Fine Grater Disc”..a Fine grater disc..I have been contemplating this set for a while. I hope it’s the kind that’ll fit your FP but, look around on their website.

sound yummy!! here’s my secret for the carrots: juice carrots in a juicer and take out the shredded carrots from the “trash” section of juicer. so you get pancakes w/fresh juice! doesn’t get any better…..

4:30 p.m.: I will make these as written. They will be for dinner, unapologetically.
5:00 p.m.: Just realized—no buttermilk and no time to go to the store. Whole milk will be fine.
5:15 p.m.: The 5-year-old decides to take a bath and wants her hair washed. I forget the brown sugar.
5:30 p.m.: Spouse invites the 3-year-old to come outside for barn chores. Shoes go on wrong feet; convincing him they’re on the wrong feet takes a bit of time. Who needs freshly grated nutmeg? The powdered stuff is right here.
5:33 p.m.: The 3-year-old comes back in and decides that *he* wants to take a bath. @*&! I squeeze three pancakes in the skillet at a time.
5:45 p.m.: Everyone is suddenly screaming that they’re hungry. No one is getting any frosting. Straight cream cheese all around.
5:50 p.m.: Suddenly no one is anywhere near the dinner table. I scarf down two while they’re hot. They’ll be sorry.
6:00 p.m.: Finally, everyone is here, relatively dry, and mostly dressed.
6:02 p.m.: Pancakes are gone. Everyone wails that I should have made a double batch. Spouse says he didn’t even want the sugar and suggests various savory versions. What is wrong with him?
Maybe next time I’ll do them right. With sugar. And frosting. And buttermilk. And fresh nutmeg. (When the kids are in college.) Bottom line: They were fantastic anyway. Thanks!

I just made these with my little brother. He doesn’t like vegetables, but strangely enough loves carrot cake (over other cakes, I mean). I do, too but I’m frustrated by how sweet it is and how bad for you it can be (though positively delicious!). I was pleasantly surprised to find that this recipe only used two tablespoons of brown sugar and I just made sure that he didn’t overdose on the cream-cheese mixture when eating it. I also used slightly less than two cups of finely grated carrots and I think if I had done more it would have been too much. It would also be good for those who like a stronger taste to spice up the cream-cheese (let’s be honest here, we’ll acknowledge it’s frosting :D). They were totally delicious, and I felt like they had SOME nutritional value, which is an ace in my book.
ALSO, I LOVE Joy. I’m going to her book signing in New York, I’ve always wondered if you guys looked at each other’s sites…

I always find ways to include veggies into my diet but had never thought that it could be in my breakfast :) What a way to include health food carrots into your breakfast.The only obstacle is having buttermilk at any time in the fridge, so I usually opt for the buttermilk powder that stays in the fridge for months, for any recipe that calls for not a lot of buttermilk :)

A friend and I just made these today and they are wonderful!!! Thank you! We did make an adjustment to the topping though, to make it a little more healthy and, in my opinion, even more delicious! We just added 2 Tablespoons of Agave and 1 Tablespoon of Maple Syrup to the 4 oz of cream cheese. It was sweet and perfectly complimented the pancakes!

I made these yesterday without the frosting, and they were awesome. I used the food processor to grate the carrots and then followed a another’s suggestion to pop the grated carrots in the microwave for about 1 minute. It worked really well, and the carrots kept the pancakes so moist inside. Thanks for the recipe!

I made a few substitutions (going out of town tomorrow and trying to clean out the fridge) that worked out fine – that’s the beauty of pancakes, right? So flexible! But I want everyone to know that you can use a food processor! I grated the carrots using the grating disk, and then chopped them up using the regular blade and they turned out quite fine. I haven’t made the recipe by hand, so I don’t know if the result was exactly the same, but I was happy! The topping also comes together quite nicely in the fp – mine has a small bowl that goes inside the larger bowl, and this worked like a charm!

Deb: I couldn’t wait any long and HAD to make these today – but made them into waffles and added dried apricots (both requests of my boyfriend). They were excellent! I’ll be posting them soon! Thanks for the recipe (and thanks to JOY!).

These were fantastic! Like you, we couldn’t believe how healthy they were. The texture was really wonderful — soft and moist — and the “frosting” was the perfect complement. (Also, I used the biggest carrot I have ever seen to make these — 3/4 lb. on its own!)

Hey Deb. Just wanted to say how much I love the coloring- orange and turquoise. Excellent choice. I think using fabric is a brilliant idea.
My buried cream cheese was sprouting interesting spores…
So I used a very creamy goat cheese- also excellent!
Been experimenting with this coconut sugar I picked up.
So good in pancakes! Sometimes (= every time) I sort of lose my patience to de clump the coconut sugar lumps and the result is like eating tiny caramel pockets of bliss.
On a totally different tangent- I’m starting a serious problem those green beans and fried almond salad.

Made these over the weekend. I swapped in 1/2 regular whole wheat flour – they were delish! I had trouble getting them to cook all the way through. Cook ’em on the first side for a good 2 minutes longer then you normally cook pancakes. Whatever. At the end of the day, just slather on the cream cheese frosting and who cares if the center is a little damp. The flavors here are wonderful!

Laurie Colwin wrote something about how much children like fritters, and I think these qualify, no? I made them for dinner this weekend (minus topping), with meatballs and a salad of roasted veggies and potatoes, and they were quite a hit with the four-year-old. If anyone is interested I made them dairy- and egg-free (because of allergies)–earth balance, egg replacer, soy milk curdled with a bit of cider vinegar–and they were fine.

I just made these. holy cow, they were good. and my children told me they wouldn’t eat it and requested cheerios instead…asked for seconds. can’t wait to make them again. Grating the carrots wasn’t nearly the terrible task I thought it was going to be

READERS BEWARE. These pancakes were TERRIBLE. Yes, they sound wonderful, and I’ve had great luck with other Smitten recipes. However, these are a DUD. They never cooked through, despite changing the temperature, varying the amount of flour, and even cooking a batch until burnt. The insides remain goopy. Spare yourself the annoyance of all the grating. Trust me.

I suppose one person’s “deliciously tender” is another person’s “underdone.” These had a wonderful flavor, but I like my baked/bready goods firm, and these felt like the batter didn’t finish cooking, while the carrots (very finely grated) mostly remained little stringy chewy bits. Cooking these for almost 5 minutes per side on low, and then letting them “bake” a little bit longer in an oven closer to 250 helped, but not enough for me to make these again. I normally love carrot cake, next time I’ll stick to carrot muffins with less sugar.

Thank you very much for this recipe. My carrot-addicted son wouldn’t even try these and my carrot-shunning daughter gobbled them up and can’t wait for me to make them again.I added some coconut to make them more carrot-cakey and mace since I’m out of nutmeg. I’ll probably use only a dash of mace next time as it crowded out the other spices. The cream cheese stuff was lumpy so I think I needed to let it get warmer before beginning to beat it. Oh, and the leftovers fared much better than regular pancakes would in the fridge.

I was prepared to dislike these, but made them for my 3 and 9 year old girls and spouse. EVERYONE (including me) could not get enough of them! The topping was key, though next time I will put a little less sugar in it. I adapted this to be gluten free by using an all purpose GF baking flour and two tablespoons of corn starch. Worked great!

Made this last night, but didn’t have any carrots so I made it with organic zucchini. Sounded like a good idea until I made the first one and the insides were super wet. They tasted great though! I added about 3/4c of flour and the texture improved a little, but still not perfect.
Learned a good lesson and this was a delicious recipe, but don’t think I will sub carrot for zucchini again.

These were amazing!!! I made ours gluten free by substituting King Arthurs gluten free flour blend + 1/4 teaspoon of xanthum gum and I added 1 extra egg. I also substituted plain whole milk yogurt for the buttermilk because I didn’t have the latter. I thought they were amazing, but better yet, my 6 year old devoured them (without syrup or the cream cheese glaze!).

These look spectacular. I also need to adjust a little for gluten but I plan on keeping the rest of the recipe as-is. I was just getting so sick of breakfast so this will be a wonderful treat around here.

I couldn’t get these out of my head, but am admittedly not much of a breakfast person. So I made them savory and had them for dinner and they were fabulous! A little extra salt, cumin, coriander, chili flakes instead of the sugar et al. and topped with plain yogurt, my carnivorous husband actually high-fived me. Also, thank you for the introduction to Joy the Baker!

Made them and they were heavenly! Made a few adjustments… whole wheat flour, touch of molasses, and a little more spice. I’d add sweetened shredded coconut next time… but all in all… Pure delight! Thank you!!!!

These were delicious. Ours came out perfectly, and the carrots lent great moisture to the finished product. My husband makes pancakes every Saturday for going on two yrs now, so I know a bit about pancakes, and these are in the tops of the many recipes he has tried. The key was making them small, as Deb advised, and grating the carrots small so they were cooked through, also as Deb advised.

The only substitution we made was to use super-strained yogurt (labneh, yogurt cheese) in place of cream cheese to cut own on calories/fat, and bc we had it in the house. Arguably a bit runnier, we didn’t need to add milk to “thin” but otherwise not much difference.

I made these this morning, with half ap flour/half whole wheat flour, and 1/3 less fat cream cheese. They were outstanding! Breakfast totally wins!
p.s. I love your blog, I never thought I could make food with so much flavor. Thank you!

I made these yesterday, and two adults and four kids (11, 7, 6 and 4) polished off all but one pancake from a double batch. They cooked through just fine for me if I kept the heat low enough so that they were golden on the bottom when the edges were just starting to get that dry, set look, and bubbles in the middle no longer filled in when popped. I loved the cream cheese topping, but I loved it even better with a little buttermilk syrup drizzled on top of a dollop of cream cheese topping. Here’s the buttermilk syrup recipe I use:

Put all ingredients other than vanilla in a large (at least 6 qt, and 8 qt would be even better–this stuff greatly increases in volume as it boils) pot, and bring to boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly. When it reaches a full rolling boil, set timer for 7 minutes, and keep stirring. When the timer goes off, remove from heat, stir as foaming subsides, then stir in vanilla. Serve warm over everything–waffles, pancakes, french toast, ice cream, etc. etc.

I have to say I was dubious. While I love carrot cake, I wasn’t sure about these. The picture didn’t even look appetizing. But I trusted you and like you said, it isn’t even bad for you! They were awesome! Just make sure to take your time with low heat so the middle is cooked through. Thanks so much for another winner!!

DELICIOUS. I have celiac, and am alway on the look out for “standard” recipes that I can convery to Gluten Free. I subbed 1/2 cup buckwheat flour, 1/4 cup coconut flour, and 1/4 cup brown rice flour for the 1 cup AP flour, and added 1/2 tsp xantham gum.

i didn’t have powdered sugar so i used brown sugar instead for the topping, it came out color beige, but still delicious! I now see the wisdom in grating the carrots the night before, since otherwise this can take forever.. basically breakfast turned into lunch today.. but it was definitely worth the wait, really tasty! Thanks!!!

Oh yum! Seriously the best pancakes ever. My wife’s cousins made it for us when we went to visit them in Nova Scotia. They said they got the recipe here and sent us the link. You’ve got a broad and yummy reach. Nice job!

Fantastic! I have everything but the buttermilk sitting at home shouting, “use me, bitch! Use me!” My better half just decided to cut wheat out of his diet. You think if I used a gluten-free flour mine would still come out as tasty as yours look?

The photos made me craved for carrot cake taste pancakes last night. This morning I made my carrot cake pancake for my breakfast. Burp! Super delicious! :). My best friend Anthony got attracted with my carrot cake pancakes in a Black Bamboo Serving Plate. He was tempted to taste them, then sat down to eat all of them! :D

Just thought you might like to know – I decided to make pancakes for dinner tonight and, while I was figuring out which kind to make (we have several favorites), I had a revelation: these pancakes have both a protein topping (hello cream cheese!) AND they’re made out of vegetables. Winner, winner, carrot pancake dinner!

True, they never quite firmed up in the middle like traditional pancakes (or actual carrot cake!) but they were delicious and brightened up our Easter breakfast. Do yourself a favor and grate the carrots the night before.

I made these on a WEEKDAY last week before going to work (pregnancy had me up early… and I will also blame the little one for the insanity of getting all my measuring cups out at 7 am lol.) These were beyond worth it. I made half a batch and topped with maple syrup. Next time I will make all of them, and will definitely try the cream cheese topping. Thanks for posting, Deb!

DERRICIOUS pancakes! My man cycles 30 miles a day, and these hit the spot for a decadent breakfast, even before a ride! I love how these are similar to my go to pancake recipe without butter added, and with carrots(!) these were fantastic. I used 3/4C milk + 3 tbsp vinegar substitute for buttermilk, pinching pennies and I always have the ingredients on hand. So glad I could throw some in the freezer too, with only two of us serving the whole plate would have been rather gluttonous! I can’t wait to make these again in a larger batch to store for early mornings. Thanks for the goodness!

I’m making these tomorrow! We have a juicer that I use regularly, and I save the pulp left over from the carrots. This is the perfect use for the pulp! YAAY! Healthy juice for breakfast and yummy pancakes for lunch! The kids will be thrilled.

I wasn’t sure if I should squeeze the grated carrots or not, so I just quickly pressed them. Next time I will make sure they are very dry, as I found the pancakes to be a tad mushy on the inside. They tasted fantastic though, I’ll be looking forward to experimenting more with this recipe. Thanks!

Wow! These were unreal! I made them for me and my husband on a Friday morning when we were both off from work (after a crazy week of hardly seeing each other). Let’s just say we both could have used a cigarette…..and neither of us smoke ;) They’re that good!

Pancakes can surely be food. Not just cake – but real food :)
I made these delicious and very easy-to-make potato-pumkin pancakes the other day for dinner, and they were great! :) Serve them with a nice fresh salad, some meat on the grill (for those meat-lovers), and whole-grain bread, and you are good to go :)http://madforgalleriet.wordpress.com/2012/04/09/kartoffelgraeskarpandekager/
(sorry, it’s in Danish, but try Google translate)

Supermarkets carry bagged preshredded carrots, which I what I use in carrot cake, and I’m betting this will work in these. Never mind breakfast–I think these are going to be dinner some night at our house since we’re a “breakfast for dinner” kind of household!

Deb, you never let me down. I made these for dinner last night and they were delicious (though I had to mess around with heat level and cooking time a bit), and we had no cream cheese so we spread creme fraiche on them instead. Also tasty plain and with a drizzle of maple syrup. Of course, my two-year-old’s verdict was “don’t like it pancake! eat somethin’ else?” Sigh.

This morning I made the leftovers into waffles, but I couldn’t get them to the crisp fluffiness I require in a waffle. I guess the recipe probably requires some modifications to work well in a waffle iron.

Thanks for the great recipe!! Since I had a ton (5 lbs) of leftover baby carrots, I couldn’t hand grate them. I used my giant pain in the rear food processor and grated them. I then put the chopper blade in and gave it a couple of whirrs. They cooked through fine and turned out GREAT! (kids scarfed them down!) (i also used a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour) Thank you for another fantastic recipe.

I was morally opposed to this recipe a mere 10 minutes ago, having previously seen it elsewhere. Thanks to your (very reasonable) rationalizations, and the feeling that it must have been inspiration when I bought carrots and then came to your site looking for ideas for our weekly breakfast-for-dinner, I am making these for dinner tomorrow. I can’t wait.

I had planned on making these for Easter brunch but they got bumped for your raspberry ricotta scones. Which, by the way, I am addicted to. So, I decided to make them this morning because the buttermilk has been staring me down all week and I didn’t want to waste it. I used low-fat buttermilk and half whole wheat flour and they turned out fantastic! Yes, they were a challenge to get cooked all the way through, but they have made my list of breakfast fav’s. My kids even ate them sans topping!

Hello Deb! I was totally smitten with Joy’s carrot cake pancakes when I saw them in her book, and when I saw them on your blog I knew I had to make them immediately. Grating carrots by hand requires way more energy before breakfast than I possess, though, so I came up with another solution. I grated the carrots in my food processor using the grating blade, then I replaced that blade with the regular blade and pulsed it a few times. Ta da! Finely grated carrots with minimal work. I blogged about it here: http://cookieandkate.com/2012/carrot-cake-pancakes/

Thank you for that extra little nudge to try these pancakes, I’ve been eating them all week!

I made these last night and after testing one pancake, I added another teaspoon of brown sugar. I’m thinking they were not sweet enough because it wasn’t proper brown sugar like muscavado which is like gold in Egypt.

They came out super light and delicious and I immediately shared the blog on Facebook with anyone who could care less lol!

Did anyone else have a problem with these not cooking all the way? I don’t have a cast iron griddle or pan, but I wouldn’t think that would be a problem.. I cooked them on a lower heat after having issues with the first few, and cooked several mInuted on both sides, still gummy in the middle…no idea what the issue is. I’m going to try baking them in the oven to see if they do better.

I did this tonight for Breakfast for Dinner and my husband proclaimed that it may be one of my Top 3 of all time, and that’s saying something because he’s fairly obsessed with my cooking. I used whole wheat pastry flour and did a rough chop on the carrots then put them through the Vitamix (which if I wasn’t already happy married, I’d marry). The consistency was perfect though my cakes took anywhere from 3-4 minutes per side (in a cast iron skillet over medium heat). We both could seriously eat them again tomorrow. (And I should probably go to bed soon because the extra “frosting” is in the fridge and I may just go eat it all with a spoon.)

I really want to like these. I made them twice, once with regular milk/greek yogurt, once with almond. They taste delicious but take FOREVER to cook. 2 minutes each side? try more like 10 minutes. Even so they were squishy in the middle. Last time I gave up after we had eaten our fill and had a few extra for the freezer (its just me and a 3 year old) and tried the rest in our muffin maker. They still tasted delicious but the outside was overcooked with the middle ‘just’ done. I’m going to try the extra in the oven with a lowish temp for what I’m guessing will be forever.

I just made these for dinner and were delicious. Even I have a processor which doesn’t grate finely. I went ahead and grated it in the processor and then processed it once more with the normal processor blade.

I live in the Caribbean and Carrot Pancakes are commonly served as a side dish with your entree so I decided to scrap the topping. I am so excited to try them today because for years I have been trying to put my paws on an amazing carrot pancake recipe.I first had them at a new years eve party and the person who made them refused to give me their recipe and I can guarantee you that this recipe is a hundred times better than the one I had at the party so now I am so anxious to rub it in her face! :D

AMAZING. I’ve had this bookmarked for a while, but – like another reader – am training for a marathon and decided these were an appropriate carb-y reward. I added maybe 1/4 to 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, omitted the ground ginger (didn’t have it on hand), and used 3/4 cup 1% milk + a dollop of Greek yogurt. Came out wonderfully. I did find that, when cooking these on a well-seasoned cast iron skillet, I didn’t need the butter (in fact, mine turned out better dry this way). But, I did agree with your comment on the amount of batter dropped in the pan – making them really small was the only way to get an even cook, as I learned the hard way based on my first round. I wonder if those having trouble with getting them to cook through are making them too large? Anyway, awesome…and, naturally, the cream cheese frosting is really what these are all about anyway. Thanks for another awesome recipe!

Hi Marie — Buttermilk is a byproduct of butter-making, but it’s sold in the US in quarts at most grocery stores. The commerical stuff tastes like thin yogurt or a tangy milk. You can make your own equivalent like this.

My boyfriend is a HUGE fan of carrot cake, so this was a perfect breakfast treat for him this weekend! Only modifications were to use brown sugar in place of powdered sugar in the cream cheese spread (I ran out of powdered sugar)…which worked very well! I toasted the nuts and found them to be a great addition to the pancakes. Perfectly spiced, no flavor dominates. Fluffy and substantial (filling) without being heavy and dense. Yum!

My Mum and I made these for our brunch today. We had the same problem a few other readers have had – they would not cook through, no matter what we tried! We tried the pan on a medium heat, as recommended, first and then higher heats, lower heats and eventually the oven. The pancakes would not cook in the middle – even when the outsides were almost blackened!
We eventually settled for cooking them in the pan for 5-7 mins a side, medium heat, (flipping once sides looked set and bubbles formed on top) then transferring them to a baking tray in the oven for another 5-10 mins. The taste was nice, the spicing was lovely, but the texture was way too mushy inside. The mix was not cooked, although how it could not be cooked after all that time is beyond me! It was not just the carrot wasn’t cooked. The batter was raw in the centre.
Seeing that other readers had the same problem, I wonder if it’s to do with 2 cups of grated carrot being a hard measurement to be exact with? We used about 400g of carrots. We didn’t sub anything, just left the walnuts out.
On a happier note, we LOVED the cream cheese frosting, although we used home-made vanilla sugar rather than powdered sugar. That is one part of this recipe we will use on a lot of other dishes!

What a delicious treat! I did not have any trouble getting them to cook through in the center. These little beauties were set and ready to eat in less than 5 minutes a piece, and with the cream cheese drizzle – yum!

I made these awesome pancakes twice–the first time, exactly according to SK (delicious!), and the second time, I (yes, I admit!) decreased the carrots, increased the sugar, and served the pancakes in a stack with the cream cheese spread in between each layer at a birthday brunch for a guest of honor who adores carrot cake!

I woke up this morning with a desperate desire for pancakes but a relatively firm resolution to not eat something stupidly unhealthy for breakfast (it is, after all, only Wednesday). So I tinkered a bit: replaced 2/3 of the white flour with whole wheat and oat flour, whipped the egg white separately to be sure they wouldn’t get too heavy, and made the topping out of Greek yogurt instead of the cream cheese. Good gracious. Thanks for such a fun recipe to riff off of, they were awesome! I’m sure the original cream cheesy version is mindblowing, but for a humble Wednesday I am more than satisfied when my delicious 4-pancake breakfast clocks in at under 300 calories. Next time I might try a little applesauce in the batter for extra sweetness.

Loved them! Only used 3/4 c. flour and I think it really helped them to be a little less thick and cook through more thoroughly. Also pushed the batter down and spread it as thin as I could on the pan to prevent them from being too thick.
I used a food processor for the carrots but was still able to get them fine enough :)

Hi Deb, I’m so excited to try these today! I realized that I don’t have any confectioner’s sugar, but I DO have raw, local honey! I’m going to use that in my topping instead. I think it should be fine, since it doesn’t need a frosting consistency. Don’t you think?

Ooooooh, this is such a great recipe. I agree, grating the carrots is a drag but so worth it as it’s the only carrot I’ve beeen able to get my almost 2 year old to eat practically since I stopped spoon feeding him purees! Win! Your cottage cheese pancakes are just great, too. My whole family loves them. Thanks!

I just made these this morning for a last-Sunday-morning-breakfast-before-the-school-year treat. (And to use up some carrots I turned into carrot sticks in the fridge, but that turned out to not have much flavor.)

I made a few changes, to accommodate my pantry, and to avoid a trip to the corner store from my 5th floor walk-up. I used coconut milk (homemade light – dilute one can of full fat coconut milk with 2 cans of water) and agave as a sweetener, and omitted the nuts and dried fruit. They came out quite nicely. Thanks, Deb!

Carrots…yuck. Let me tell you about growing up with carrots circa 1956…and before and after. Carrots were boiled….and boiled and oh yeah…boiled. With all we had…blocks of WHITE margarine. They then came with little colour packets you had to play baseball with to meld. And yep glopped on boiled carrots. I could stomach them raw. barely. I did not eat carrots (hey I am a big girl..I don’t have to) until I was in my late 20’s when my daughter asked for some. I finally learned to add brown sugar and burn (cook dark) in fry pan. Now all this leads to above recipe……I MADE IT….I ATE IT….IT’S GREAT!!!!

You are right, the grater on the food processor does make it too big but after you have grated them, just put the lower blade on and pulse until they are just right. Saves a lot of time and energy. I also substituted soy milk instead of buttermilk and coconut sugar instead of brown sugar. We ate them with a little soy sour cream and some all fruit jam on top, it was great.

I have a nine-year-old son with autism. It’s very hard to get him to try anything new. He saw carrot pancakes in a commercial and asked me to make some for him. I chose your recipe and eliminated the nuts (he has a nut allergy) and the raisins. He ate 4 1/2 pancakes. Thanks for the recipe we will definitely use it again.

EXCELLENT! We were craving carrot cake and this definitely hit the spot! We added a few TBLs of ground flax seed to the batter and didn’t have any cream cheese so we substituted greek yogurt. Thanks for sharing!

I especially appreciate the advice to “definitely not try to figure out whether it would taste good on banana bread, or an oatmeal muffin, or a… spoon.” That was most helpful– look at all that time and energy I saved! ;-)

These were super yummy, but still too mushy on the inside. I put them in a 300 degree oven to finish cooking, so we were still able to enjoy (my kids thought it was heaven… *frosting* for breakfast? :). I’d love to figure out the consistency issue, though. Did anyone have success squeezing the water out of the carrots? Other? We did use 1/2 whole wheat and a bit of skim since we ran out of whole, but everything else was a match.

Wow! My little four year olds DEVOURED these and that’s without that incredibly delicious-sounding cream cheese topping (I forgot to take it out of the fridge to come to room temperature). We used 1/2 whole wheat flour and 1/2 white flour, they were still fluffy and light. The next time we’ll try all whole wheat. Thank you for sharing this delicious and nutritious recipe!

Yikes, these did not turn out well at all. Tried lower heat, higher heat, resting in the oven at 200, 250, etc, but they just NEVER cooked in the middle. Raw, goopy, and just generally gross. I see numerous other commenters had the same issue–wonder how some people got them to turn out well?!

I made these for friends recently. I unexpectedly had to make them gluten free using the coconut flour that was on hand. Nothing like trying a new-to-me recipe with an unfamiliar ingredient substitution. ;-) The flavor was good, but the pancakes were dry. I added probably another 3/4 cup of buttermilk to (unsuccessfully) lighten up the batter. Everyone raved about them anyway. I definitely want to try again with regular flour or even a gluten-free all-purpose flour.

I’ve been dying to show you how cute ours turned out!!! Here is a link to a twitter pic…I made these pancakes w several different folks, and we decorated them accordingly. (Also, please note: NEKO CASE FLIPPED OUT AND TWEETED ABOUT THESE PANCAKES!)

Thank you for yet another delicious way to get some veggies into my toddler while keeping everyone happy :) Between these and the zucchini bread pancakes… weekend happiness and some semblance of a kinda-sorta-balanced toddler diet. Subbed a little more than half whole-wheat flour for AP in both recipes without noticing any texture/dryness issues.

I have now made both these and the zucchini bread pancakes. Both had nice flavor, but were rather wet and gooey, even after extra time on the griddle. I definitely prefer a drier, fluffy pancake – all the better to soak up maple syrup, so perhaps we just have different pancake styles. I grated the carrots as instructed, and they were cooked perfectly – like in carrot cake, hardly even noticeable. I used a flax egg and non-dairy milk plus lemon juice to make a vegan buttermilk. When I combined all of the ingredients, the amount of carrot (I did use two PACKED cups) compared to the amount of batter was astonishing – I thought they were more fritter like than pancake like. The batter was not pourable, and I had to smooth it out using the back of a spoon once I scooped it onto the griddle, it did not spread out itself. Definitely at least 5 minutes a side, and like I said, still rather mushy and dense instead of fluffy, towering, and light like I like. Would love to hear suggestions on how to improve them!

Lauren,
I had the exact same issue – gooey, wet pancakes. I thought it was because I mixed up the wet and dry ingredients in separate bowls the night before and the carrots released extra moisture, but after reading your review, I think these are just wet pancakes.

I just made these and they were awesome! I definitely do not have the patience to grate carrots on the small holes of a box grater, so I cut the carrots into 2″ chunks and then put them in the food processor with the regular S blade and ran it until the carrots looked like the picture. Worked great! Tender, moist, carroty

Hey there! I tried this recipe this weekend exactly as written and I had a little bit of trouble! Everything was going well and it smelled amazing…..but the pancakes themselves refused to cook through! I’m not kidding I left these pancakes on the griddle for well over 15 minutes and they were still completely mushy on the inside. Is that what it’s supposed to be?
It seemed like i had created some kind of inhuman substance that just refused to cook through no matter how long I left it in the pan. Just a warning: these turned into quite the time commitment!